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Significantly, the proposed changes to the law are being backed by The Kennel Club, the country’s largest organisation for dog owners.

Under the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act it is illegal for any breed of dog to be out of control in a public place, but the Act does not cover the private property of the dogs’ owners.

As a result, police have been powerless to prosecute owners for some of the most horrific attacks by dogs in recent years.

In March this year Taylor Leadbeater, aged two, came close to having her jaw ripped off by her family’s French Bullmastiff in Eltham, south east London. The dog had previously bitten another member of the family but no-one was charged over the attack on Taylor because it happened at home.

Claire Robinson, government relations manager for the RSPCA, said: “Most attacks happen on private property and it seems absolutely ludicrous that people aren’t protected there. People are suffering life-changing injuries as a result of being attacked by dogs but there is nothing in law to give them the right to recompense.

“The only time you can take the owner to court is if the dog is a banned breed.”

In 2008/09 there were 4,810 dog attacks on Royal Mail staff alone, with thousands more on police officers, council staff and other workers.

Sian Jones, of the Communication Workers’ Union, which represents postal workers, said: “Dog attacks are a huge occupational hazard for our members. People have had fingers bitten off, others have been mauled so badly they haven’t been able to return to work, and it has destroyed their lives.

“Yet the current law ends at the garden gate – as soon as you step onto private property, you aren’t protected by the law.”

The changes are being proposed by charities and dog owners’ organisations including the RSPCA, The Kennel Club and the Dogs Trust, together with the Police Federation and unions including Unite, the GMB and the Communication Workers’ Union.

They are also proposing so-called “Dog Asbos” which would give dog wardens the right to instruct the owners of aggressive dogs to keep them under tighter control, and take legal action if they failed to comply.